This article was written by award-winning life insurance broker; Reassured.

The diverse roles we play

If you think about it, a stay-at-home mum takes on many roles: childminder, teacher, nurse, cook, cleaner, laundrette, taxi service, gardener, dog walker, accountant, counsellor, personal shopper……the list goes on and on.

(It’s no wonder we are stressed a lot of the time!)

But have you really thought about your worth as a full-time stay-at-home mum? Not just emotionally, but also financially?

Your average workday might look something like this:

  • 3 hours cleaning and washing up
  • 2 hours cooking
  • 1-hour cleaning, hanging up and ironing clothes
  • 1-hour personal shopper
  • 30 mins gardening
  • 30 mins taxi service
  • 30 mins helping with homework
  • On call for the kids 24/7.

Not that we do it for monetary gain, but have you ever wondered what your salary might be if you were paid for all the hours you put in at home?

Maybe not, when taking care of the children and the home just seems completely natural (and as busy mums, when do we have time to even think about these things?)

According to an article published in the Mirror, a stay-at-home mum is worth £80,000 a year and should be “on the same salary level as GPs, pilots and lawyers.” That’s pretty impressive!

To find out your own stay-at-home mum salary, try out this fun tool from insurer Sunlife; www.sunlife.co.uk.

To put a price on what you do for the family, is quite satisfying, but it also really hits home the potential financial implications, if you were no longer around.

SunLife suggests the financial risk to a family from the passing of a stay-at-home mum is estimated at £29,812 a year.

Life insurance for stay-at-home mums

If you’re a stay-at-home mum and don’t earn a tangible salary, it’s easy to think that you don’t need life insurance protection.

Like many of us, you may think that life insurance is just to protect against the loss of the family breadwinner, whether that be mum or dad.

After all, they provide the funds to pay the mortgage and household bills. But this isn’t entirely true.

A stay-at-home mum makes an enormous, often underestimated contribution to running the home.

Most families would be severely impacted, both practically and financially, if you were no longer around.

As a result, doesn’t it make sense that you should be protected with a form of cover too?

It’s really hard to contemplate, but in the event of your passing, who would step in and help support your family and help run the home?

Many families turn to grandparents for support. “65% of working parents stated that they could only afford to work due to the grandparents’ help with childcare”. – (Source: Legal & General).

But, if they are no longer around, would your spouse struggle to afford childcare fees or a cleaner?

Would they have to reduce their working hours to fulfil these roles? But then how would this impact on their salary, on which the family relies?

According to The Money Charity, the average cost of raising a child, from birth until the age of 21, is £30.23 per day.

That’s equates to a staggering £231,713 over 21 years. And what if you have multiple kids?

There’s no surprise that the most expensive part is childcare. The Money Advice Service report that the average cost of full-time childcare is £223.36 a week and £277.84 per week for those in London.

That’s £11,615 or £14,448 a year alone.

How any of us afford these expenses, I really don’t know. But this is what comes into consideration when we think about the financial and practical difficulties we may leave behind.

Why do so few stay-at-home mums’ have life insurance?

Only one-third of stay-at-home mums are covered by life insurance and almost half of parents in the UK don’t have any life insurance protection.

Which is baffling when, many people have phone insurance and/or pet insurance in place, (which can demand similar premiums), but no life insurance to protect their loved ones.

According to a 2016 study carried by a leading insurer, the most common reason stay-at-home parents don’t get life cover is it is ‘too expensive‘. Followed by ‘it is too complicated‘ or ‘I am too young to think about dying’.

I know, we’re all guilty of avoiding the subject of our death. No-one likes to consider the thought of dying and what this would mean for our children and loved ones.

Times are changing though, and organisations such as The Dying Matters coalition, want to encourage people to be more open about the end of our lives, with loved ones and/or other members of society. It’s really important to be able to discuss these subjects, as our death is inevitable, whether that be unexpectedly or many years in the future.

Also, life insurance for stay-at-home mums may not be as expensive as you think. In reality, you can set up life insurance to protect your family, until your children are independent, for just a few pounds a month.

For the price of a couple of Starbucks coffees a week, you and your family could be comprehensively covered, should the worst happen. Seems like a small price to pay.

Generally speaking, the younger you are when taking out a policy, particularly if you’re in your 20’s or 30’s, the less you pay.

On top of that, if you’re a non-smoker, keep up a healthy lifestyle and haven’t suffered with any serious or chronic health problems, you’ll also benefit from lower premiums.

Another affordable option is family income benefit. Here, instead of a single lump sum pay out, your policy pays out a monthly tax-free income.

This type of cover is ideal for day-to-day family budgeting, whilst avoiding the need to invest large sums, which could incur fees.

You’re irreplaceable

We all know you can never replace a parent. Whether you work full-time or are a stay-at-home mum, the role you play is invaluable.

However, having adequate protection in place provides reassuring peace of mind that if anything were to happen to you, your family would receive a lump sum pay out to help financially, at a time when they are suffering emotionally. To be honest, I can’t really put a price on that.

If you’re one of the millions of parents in the UK without life insurance, why not take out cover today?

The best way to secure the right policy for you, at the cheapest price, is to compare quotes.

You can do this using an online comparison site, or by using an FCA registered broker (their services are usually free).

Cover starts from as little as 20p a day.


Sources:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/family/mums-would-earn-80000-year-10067907

https://www.sunlife.co.uk/press-office/stay-at-home-mums-do-almost-30k-of-unpaid-work-a-year-yet-two-thirds-do-not-have-life-insurance

Click to access w13413.pdf

https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-survey-2017 + https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/childcare-costs

https://www.sunlife.co.uk/press-office/stay-at-home-mums-do-almost-30k-of-unpaid-work-a-year-yet-two-thirds-do-not-have-life-insurance

https://www.legalandgeneral.com/life-cover/confused-about-life-cover/articles-and-guides/protection-life-insurance-poll.html


Vicky Charles

Vicky is a single mother, writer and card reader.

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